High1 Resort

High1 is located in the heart of the Taebaek Mountains, Korea’s main range, and offers the most serious piece of ski terrain in the country. This isn’t a ski / golf / water park all-in-one leisure resort; this is a proper ski hill with proper runs (although the High1 Hotel does actually have an attached golf course… and there’s a casino! And lots of good hiking… so it is popular year-round)

High1 has one of the best natural snowfall records in Korea, so isn’t quite as reliant as most Korean hills on snowmaking – this isn’t saying all that much, but at least you’ll be getting some of the real stuff under your board.

The Taebaek Mountains

Also, take note: High1 offers a 40% discount to foreigners! Just remember to take your passport with you, and use it to get a resort card from the Customer Service Centre. You can then present the resort card at the ticket counter to get the discount when you buy your lift ticket.

There are three base areas, although one of them is just the High1 Hotel, located on the side of the mountain some distance from the town of Gohan with its own gondola – High1 Gondola – direct to the top, but no ski in/ski out piste access. The main base areas are Mountain House, high above the town of Sabuk, and Valley House lower down in Gohan; the Valley Gondola connects these two bases, and you can ski down from Mountain House to Valley House via the Athena 3 run. From Mountain House, the Mountain Gondola (which is the main gondola) runs up to the top.

In addition to the three gondolas, High1 has a total of 7 chairlifts running up the two facing sides of a valley, with all the runs funnelling down from the two top stations (Valley Top & Mountain Top) to Valley House at the bottom.

The vertical drop at High1 is similar to that at Yongpyong, and a bit less than at Muju Deogyusan, but a crucial difference is that while Yongpyong has only one full run all the way down and Muju Deogyusan a couple, at High1 you have a much greater variety of top-to-bottom options.

They also do a good job with their freestyle efforts; the park isn’t quite as impressive as the more specialist setups at Phoenix Park and Welli Hilli, but High1 is otherwise the best freestyle hill you’ll find in Korea.

High1 is good for:

Freestyle – best in Korea after Welli Hilli Park and Phoenix Park.

Terrain – the best variety of top-to-bottom runs at any single resort in Korea.

All levels of riding.

40% discount for all foreigners! (remember to take your passport)

High1 is not so good for:

Day trips from Seoul! It’s doable, but it’s probably just a bit too far to be worth it for most; better to stay for a couple of days if possible.

High1 lift tickets

High1 is open from 8:30 to 22:00. Their lift tickets follow the typical system in Korea, with the operating hours split into day & night by a 2-hour snow grooming break at 4pm; the daytime hours are subdivided into AM and PM. You can get a ticket for AM, PM, or Night, or a combination of the above, as per here (Korean page, but obvious enough). Prices range from 62,000 for a single slot to 92,000 for PM & Night combined.

They have a very handy ticket option of Night (18:00 – 22:00) and morning (8:30 – 12:00) the following day, for 90,000 won. This is very useful if you want to hit High1 from Seoul and only have 2 days, as you can travel on the first day and ski in the evening, then ski again in the morning before travelling back.

And remember, there’s a 40% discount for foreigners! Your passport is required to get the discount, so don’t forget it.

High1: accommodation

There are multiple accommodation options at the resort itself, with more in the towns of Sabuk and Gohan below.

Alternatively, you can stay in Gohan or Sabuk. Gohan has a few hotels listed here, while Sabuk is good for budget options with an Ekonomy Hotel and a number of love motels. Some of them can actually be reserved online here, but the others are walk-in joints – which you probably can’t bank on having availability if it’s a holiday, but should be fine otherwise (staying at a love motel may sound off-putting to some, but they’re actually decent places and not as seedy as the name might suggest, and could make for an interesting Korean experience!)

Airbnb is also a good option in Korea, and they have a few listings near High1 in the Sabuk/Gohan area. If you haven’t used Airbnb before, you can get a 35-dollar discount off your first rental by signing up through Snow Guide Korea; simply click on this link and register!

Pyeongchang 2018 Accommodation

For full details on where to stay for the Pyeongchang 2018 Olympics, see this page for advice and the latest updates

How to get to High1

High1 can be reached by train from Seoul’s Cheongyangni Station, with trains costing around 14,000 won and taking around 3.5 hours to Sabuk or Gohan. These two stations are a few minutes apart in neighbouring towns, and are connected to High1 by free resort shuttle buses; check the train & shuttle schedules here, see which shuttle bus (i.e. from Gohan or Sabuk) best matches your preferred train time, and choose your destination station accordingly. There’s some good scenery along the way, so try to get a window seat!

The highway bus is actually faster than the train in this case, though it doesn’t link up with the shuttle buses so you have to take a taxi from the Gohan bus terminal to High1 (the location of the bus terminal in an odd little turnoff from the highway is not conducive to walking into Gohan itself). The bus goes from Dong Seoul (East Seoul) Terminal located next to Gangbyeon Station (Line 2), takes around 3 hours, costs around 18,000 won, and runs roughly every 30 to 60 minutes (bus schedule here, page 2 in blue)

The resort operates free shuttles for both of the local train stations, but not the bus station. If accessing High1 from Sabuk Station, the shuttle bus takes you to Mountain House. If accessing from Gohan, the shuttle bus goes to both bases but Valley House is first; if taking a taxi from Gohan bus terminal, Valley House is significantly closer. If you’re going to the High1 Hotel, you need to take the shuttle from Gohan. The shuttle bus system is clearly explained here.

Another option is a direct bus transfer from Seoul to the resort with these guys. It’s a bit more expensive, but way less hassle as it’s 3.5 hours from Seoul direct to High1 with no transfers.

The new Gangneung KTX line opened in late 2017, running from Seoul Station to Gangneung in two hours; however, from Gangneung to High1 you still then have to take a bus to Gohan and taxi to High1, so it doesn’t really save any time vs the direct buses (and works out more expensive)

Any questions about High1 Resort? Leave a comment below!

For more Gangwon-do resorts, see here; for full reviews of every Korean ski resort, see here

56 comments on “High1 Resort”

Just checked their website and saw they have kids school.
Do they provide English or Chinese Lessons?
Originally we were planned for Yongpyong. But also checking if there are other viable options since Yongpyong will not fully open.

But regardless, i checked Agoda and its all fully booked! I am so disappointed and trying to contact the hotels directly. Do you have any other recommendations to see if i can get a room in either of the condo?

It’s not surprising I’m afraid… due to the Olympics I guess it’s going to be very hard to get accommodation at most resorts this season.

What I’d suggest is staying in Gohan town. It means you don’t have ski in accommodation, but some of the hotels are close (walkable) to the Valley House base station (be sure to check the exact location on the map when booking). You can search Gohan hotels here. It’s not ideal, but to be honest I think it may be your only option if you want to go to High1 this season.

Let me know if you manage to book something! (or if you have any more questions)

Hi Fenn, sorry for the slow response, have had a couple of busy days travelling back to Korea. In Seoul now and ready to rock the season!

When you look at the hotel listings on Agoda, if you scroll down the bottom you can see exactly where each hotel is on the map and check the distance to High1.

Sorry, I think my previous posts weren’t clear enough about the condos – all of the condos are convenient for the gondola! Valley Condo is right next to the gondola base, Hill Condo is a short walk from it, Mountain Condo is slightly further but you can ski to it so yes it’s also a good place to stay!

You can rent boards from High1, or from the rental shops in Gohan. I’ve never done either personally, but my understanding is that the resort has better boards than the shops, but the shops are cheaper. I’m afraid I don’t have recommendations on any specific shops, but there are a number of them there. I wouldn’t worry too much about communication – their English will usually be sufficient for the purpose!

Hi Simon! We are currently at High 1, Staying at the Mayhills Hotel (as everything close to the slopes was booked out 🙁
I am just looking on line at the slope information and it says that you can only get a 40% discount if you have a “resort card”. Do you know if the foreigner discount you mention (presenting a passport) still applies for the 2017/2018 season?
Cheers, Carina.

Hmmm, yeah it looks like they’ve changed it a bit. I haven’t been out there yet this winter, but from what I can make out, it sounds like the same system as they have at Yongpyong – you get a prepaid resort card first, and then if you buy the lift ticket with that card you get the discount.

I may be wrong, but that’s what it looks like – in other words, I think you should (hopefully) be able to get a resort card and then use it for the discount. I recommend you do take your passport along too, in case the 50% still exists. And please let me know what happens, so I can update the info on this page! Cheers, Simon

Hi Steven! Thanks for your response! We will go and check it out now and let you know! So… going off what you have written, we need to ask to buy a resort card first?! I think that’s what you are saying! In any case, we will take our passports, ask, and try our hardest to get ANY discount! LOL! I’ll be in touch! Cheers, Carina.

Hi! Sorry! I forgot to get back to you! Happy New Year!
We ended up getting lift tickets from the ski shop at Mayhills Resort for the same 40% discount. The only catch is that we had to physically hand the tickets back to a Mayhills staff member at the High 1 Ticket booth at 5pm! Which isn’t a big deal…. unless you want to stay up the mountain to have dinner before coming down on the Gondolas.

But we did ask about foreigner discounts at the Customer Service Centre. They said that each person had to present an ARC or Passport and get a Resort Card first (free of charge). Then you present this resort card at the ticket box and get a 40% discount.

At this stage, only about 4 runs are not open, so 14 runs are!!! And it was fairly quiet for the New Years Long weekend! We had a blast!

This is the first time i visit High 1 , as your mention , is it possible i live in Mayhills and still get the foreigner discounts at the Customer Service Centre , is seems they will provide you a Resort Card … etc

Hi simon, nice to know that you can share the useful info. here and it can help many new comers to solve the problems. To be honest, i am a new comer as well and would like to seek for your opinions concerning ski gears rental arrangement at High 1 resort.
My family ( totally 16 members ) have already reserved 4 nights ( Valley Cond.) at High 1 resort, but find difficulties to arrange the gears rental stuff. I expect to rent the gears at day 1 and return the stuff at day 5. However, High 1 staff has replied that their ski house only offer daily rental service so that my family members should borrow and return the gears daily.
It is very inconvenience for my group and we would like to seek alternative way to tackle the said problem.
Do you have any idea ?

There are also some independent rental shops in Gohan town (Valley Condo is in Gohan) which you could try, but I’m afraid I have no idea what their policy is for multiple day rentals. I’d suggest visiting them on your arrival day to ask if they can do that for you. I hope they say yes! (and please let me know what they say, so I can give better advice to future readers. Thanks!)

Hi there! I will be staying in Gangneung with my girlfriend for the Olympics. We wanted to ski High1 but from this post it does not sound like it will be easy to get there. You have to take a bus then taxi?? Is there no other easier way? Maybe it would be best to ski at another resort like Yongpyong even though some terrain will be closed for the Olympics.

Hi Roy, yeah if you want to go to High1 in February you’ll need to take a bus to Gohan, then a taxi to the hill. There’s also a “mugunghwa” (local) train to Gohan, and from Gohan train station there’s a free shuttle to High1; however this train leaves from Jeongdongjin Station (to the south of Gangneung) which may not be convenient for you (after the Olympics, that mugunghwa will actually start running from Gangneung Station… but that doesn’t help you). The first option will take a couple of hours, the second by train will probably be a bit slower unless you’re staying near Jeongdongjin.

It’s doable, and High1’s the best resort available – but would defo be easier to head to Yongpyong or Welli Hilli Park instead. Personally this winter I’d go to Welli Hilli Park rather than Yongpyong, on the proviso you can get KTX train tickets. The station is Dunnae, 30 minutes from Gangneung, and there’s a free shuttle bus from Dunnae Station to Welli Hilli. See my Welli Hilli page here for more info

I have just found your wetside is very useful. You are so appreciated.
5 years before. I had gone to High 1 and let my kids to join their private lesson. It was said as a English lesson. But we found much difficult to communicate with the Korean coach who is speaking poor English.

Then I went to Yongpyong for last two years, the Native English speaking (foreign) coach is easy for communcation and professional.

Since Olympic, I can only go to High 1, may I know do High 1 improve ? Do they have Native English or Mandarin NON-Korean coach. Thks

I’m not sure – but actually, you can still go to Yongpyong this year. Some of the slopes are closed because of the Olympics, but the resort is open… so, if you’ve been happy with the instructors there before, maybe it’s best just to go to Yongpyong again

Weve arrived! Just curious if you could provide any information as to where visitors apply for this discount card. From my research they say there is a customer service center located within the casino. Is this where we are to go to apply for this visitors card? Or would there be another more central location. I should mention that im staying at the base village in the high valley hotel. Thanks again!

Think you can just get it at any customer service centre or ticket office (they’re scattered around the various base stations). Actually I guess you’ve probably got it sorted by now anyway – did you find it ok?

Hi Walter, is that Sangjang-dong in Taebaek city? If so, it’s pretty close to High1, just 20km or so. I’m afraid I don’t know any specifics on where to rent a car around there, but as a backup plan you’d be able to take a 15-minute train ride from Taebaek Station to Gohan Station and a High1 shuttle bus from there. The trains only run every couple of hours on that line, but there are also buses (the Gohan bus station doesn’t have shuttle buses to High1 though, but there are usually plenty of taxis there)

Actually, I just searched on Naver Map for ‘rentacar’ in Taebaek and it’s showing 6 places so looks like you should be able to rent one in Taebaek. I highly recommend downloading Naver Map, especially for driving directions as Google Maps isn’t fully functional here.

My family, very good skiers are going to the Olympics and staying in Yongpong. We want to do a day trip to High 1. We don’t have a car. What is the best way to get there? Are there any free or for hire shuttles from the YP area to High !? Do they have Uber in Korea. Is it cost effective?

The distance isn’t huge but I’m afraid the public transport’s a bit disconnected. It’s under 2 hours by car, but without a car you’d have to go to Gangneung Bus Terminal first (already quite time-consuming from Yongpyong), then a bus to Gohan, then a taxi to High1.

Even if you took a taxi direct from Yongpyong to Gangneung Bus Terminal (avoiding messing around with shuttle buses and/or KTX), I reckon the total journey time would clock in at 3 hours plus. That taxi would be about 30 dollars, plus another 10 for the taxi at the Gohan end… I think you could get a direct taxi from Yongpyong to High1 (1h45 ish) for something in the region of 100 to 150 dollars, so you might even want to consider that.

(You may have spotted there’s also a coastal train line from Gangneung to Gohan, but unfortunately this doesn’t help you as there’s no connection at Gangneung Station – the coastal train starts from Jeongdongjin Station, so once you deal with getting across Gangneung to Jeongdongjin it’s taking even longer)

To be honest, you may be best off just skiing at Yongpyong! But if you really want to hit High1, I’d think about a direct taxi all the way.

Great site, much appreciated (I used the info to hit Welli Hilli last weekend and had a great day). I was thinking about trying High 1, but wanted to know if they have any designated mogul runs like they do at Welli Hilli.

Awesome – I was up there myself on Sunday! They do have moguls at High1, though perhaps not as reliably as at Welli Hilli (e.g. last time I went they didn’t have them open). So I can’t guarantee it… but terrain-wise it is the best hill you can hit in Korea this winter, so probably worth checking out either way.

My friends and I are planning a 3-day skiing trip out from Seoul and we were trying to decide between Muju Deogyusan and High 1 because both seem really attractive price-wise and in terms of location. We are beginner skiiers so for us lesson pricing is an important factor – these two seem to have decent rates for group lessons, from what we can gather online.

Was just wondering whether you knew if we could get the resort card at High 1 if we stayed in a hotel in Gohan instead of at the resort itself? The 40% discount for foreigners would really be great haha, but I’m not sure if we’d be eligible for it if we stayed out of the resort itself.

Yes you can still get the resort card & discount, you don’t need to be a resort guest. Just go to one of the customer service centres with your passport, they’ll give you resort cards, and then you take those to the ticket window to actually buy your lift passes.

Hi Simon,
You’ve mentioned a few times a bus connection between Gangneung and Gohan. I’ve been searching online but cannot find anything useful – schedule / route / prices.. Would you have a tip where to check please? We are based in Gangneung and are thinking to do a 1 day trip to High1. Thanks!

Sorry but there isn’t much good online info for buses between smaller towns, best thing to do is go to the bus station and ask directly. There are likely only a small number of departures for Gohan, but you can go Gangneung > Taebaek and change there for Gohan. Quite time-consuming though

Might be better to take a taxi to Jeongdongjin Station (in southern Gangneung) and a train from there, as it’ll be a bit faster and also much easier to check the times. Just checked tomorrow’s trains for example, and departures are at 5am, 7:05, 8:13, 10:37, and a couple in the afternoon, takes just under 2 hours, price is 6700 won (check here)